


Photograph

by UnicornSoldier



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, But some kids appear and everyone swoons, Cheesy texting, Clumsy Harry, Coming Untouched, Everyone Is Alive, Everyone Is Gay, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Floor Sex, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Fluffy Ending, I Love You, I really didn't know all these Sex tags existed, Implied Zayn Malik/Liam Payne, Liam is mentioned, London, Lottie is mentioned, Lou Teasdale is mentioned, Louis is a Tease, M/M, Niall is mentioned - Freeform, Not a kid fic, Of course there is smut, Ohmygod these Tags, Other, Past Eleanor Calder/Louis Tomlinson, Past Harry Styles/Original female character - Freeform, Past Perrie Edwards/Zayn Malik, Photographer Harry, Smut, Tattoo Artist Louis, Tattoo Artist Zayn, The Author Regrets Nothing, Though Zayn only appears partly, so. much. fluff.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2016-06-25
Packaged: 2018-07-18 01:23:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7293760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornSoldier/pseuds/UnicornSoldier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where Harry is a professional photographer and Louis is a tattoo artist. They meet through a project and this is all so fluffy, you can from now on call me Flufflepuff. :P<br/>As there is too much drama in reality, there is <strong>no drama</strong> here. Promised.<br/>I absolutely love Louis, Harry and London and I hope you can feel that. </p><p>Well obviously this is all made up and pure fiction based on my imagination. :P<br/>(I really don’t know what else I actually <em>have</em> to put here…)</p><p>Niall, who is only mentioned shortly, is a member of the LSO in this fic, which is my personal tribute to this wonderful and perfect fic LIARB by Gloria Andrews and 100percentsassy.</p><p>Thank you LolaTommo for being an inspiration with your beautiful collages! </p><p>This fic is what happens when you <em>don't</em> have a lot of uni courses because you should be writing your thesis in the spare time. Guess what, I haven't written a lot for that thesis so far...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1st of March, 2016

It was a dull and grey Tuesday morning at the beginning of March, when the door of Zou Tattoo opened and a tall, broad-shouldered man with a beautiful smile entered the room. It was a bit as if the sun came out of nowhere and Louis instantly forgot about his appointment at ten, which was in fact in ten minutes time. He secretly hoped that the man who had entered his shop had come to get a tattoo somewhere naughty. Or at least somewhere, where he had to take his shirt off for.  
_Oh snap out of it._ Louis thought, when he reminded himself that this was not very professional behaviour.  
Well, but this man was….handsome..and though he hadn’t met this guy before, he seemed familiar in a way and…well, he was breathtaking.  
_Good Lord._ Luckily Zayn was not around yet, otherwise he’d take the piss for the rest of the day, that was a stated fact.

“Hi there. Umm, Louis?”  
“Uhm, yeah?” Louis snapped out of his daydream and looked the man in the eyes.  
“Hi,” he smiled and the handsome stranger smiled back, cute dimples fully on display.  
“Sorry, I’m Louis, yes,” and then it hit him like the cold winter air when he had stepped out of his flat this morning. “Oi, you must be Harry Styles?”  
“Yes, but call me Harry, please. Nice to finally meet you.”  
“Nice to meet you, too”, Louis said, gazing up at Harry.

He didn’t mind that Harry was not a customer after all, but actually his appointment for ten o’clock who just happened to be slightly too early.  
Lottie, his sister, had arranged their meeting and just mentioned it was for a good cause and that Harry looked _very good_. Whyever she needed to emphasize that. But she had insisted on Harry being the one telling him about this _thing_. Louis had literally no idea what was going on here and if there even was a _thing_ , or whether his sister just tried to hook him up with Harry. He just couldn’t get rid of the feeling that he had heard Harry’s name somewhere before...just somewhere..

“I don’t know if you like coffee, but I brought some anyway. And some biscuits." He fidgeted around with a tiny box, which probably contained the said biscuits, and a tray with two cups of steaming hot coffee.  
“I have no idea what Lottie or Lou told you so far, but I at least wanted to make a good first impression.” He looked at him expectantly and with a shy grin.  
“I actually prefer tea, but thank you. I won’t say no, though, now you made the effort.” Louis smiled.  
_You certainly made an impression_ …

“Next time I can bring you tea, if you like,” Harry grinned.  
Next time… wait, what? Louis was a little confused and so he just gestured to the back room where he usually tattooed his clients. He sat down on a small table, inviting Harry to sit down on the other chair. 

“So, Lottie said you had something in mind involving me, and I have absolutely no idea what that is,” Louis laughed, “Could you please enlighten me?”  
“ ’Course,” Harry laughed. His voice was pleasantly deep and sounded a bit throaty. Louis immediately liked that about him, as well as his looks, if he was honest with himself.  
_Oi, what the fuck_ , Louis thought, _just listen to him already and shut down your mind for once_.  
Louis was an open-minded and friendly person, loud and giggly in general, but when it came to meeting other men that were not just his clients or mates from his football team, he was usually not that easily impressed. But Harry surely had left an impression in those three minutes since his arrival.

Harry placed the two coffee cups on the table in front of him and opened the box with the biscuits. “Go ahead and grab some, please,” Harry pointed to the cookies and took in a deep breath.  
“So first of all I’m sorry that you have no clue why I’m here but your sister insisted on me being the one to tell you about this project in person – “  
“Sorry to interrupt, but how come you know my sis’ but I don’t know you?” Louis asked curiously.  
“Well I don’t really _know_ her, I’ve only met her a couple of times when I visited Lou at work on different occassions. But I did not know she was your sister back then. And Lou, as in Lou Teasdale,” he added. 

Lou was a famous make-up artist, based in London but working around the world, depending on the job, obviously. Lottie had met Lou in a hair salon when she had visited Louis three years ago and they quickly became friends. Lottie had then worked with Lou for six months as an intern during the time she went to college. After she had finished her degree she came back to London on the spot to work as Lou’s assistant in full-time. She loved her job and somehow was very grateful towards Louis because she had visited him in the first place when meeting Lou. Louis always laughed at that and told her, her talent had brought her there and not him. But well. 

“So two weeks ago I worked with Lou and talked to her about how I needed another person for my project - _someone special_ \- and then your sister joined our conversation and well, here I am”, Harry smiled sheepishly.  
_Special?_ Louis thought.  
“Well your little sister is very fond of you and quite proud. And I really liked what she told me about you. And that’s why I’d like to get know you –“  
Louis felt warmth rushing through him as Harry said that. He also might have blushed a bit. _What was wrong with him?_ He was embarrassing, that was for sure, as he proved it right here, but special?  
“ - and see if we fit…....for the project, I mean”, this time Harry’s cheeks turned bright red and though he made such a confident impression, he started to chuckle. _Oh my god, were they already flirting?_ They had met only a couple of minutes ago but Louis felt strangely infatuated and attached to the man opposing him.  
“Sorry Harry, you seem familiar in a way, but I have no idea what you do and where I might know you from. And I also have absolutely no idea what kind of project you’re talking about –“  
“Oh, sorry,” Harry cleared his throat.  
“I’m a photographer and I usually work a lot with people in the fashion industry and stuff So that might be why I am familiar and at the same time not.“ He laughed.  
“And it happens that the National Portrait Gallery just offered me to work with them for a temporary exhibition about local artists.”  
“Wow, this is something, Harry. Congrats!”  
“Thank you, Louis. I must admit I feel quite honoured by that.” _Uh oh, the way Harry had just pronounced his name_ … Louis was probably fucked. And not in the good way.

“Well, so the gallery is currently hosting the ‘Vogue 100’ exhibit until May this year, you might have read or heard about it. It’s obviously all about British photography and fashion and they wanted continue with that kind of mind set in the follow-up exhibition. Various photographers will be on display for the ‘Vogue 100’ exhibit and they wanted to reverse the idea for the following art on display. That's when they must have thought of me somehow, because they asked me whether I’d be up to produce a photo series of different people, Londoners to be precise, but as one single photographer. Luckily they don’t want a hundred people”, he chuckled. “They didn’t specify the contents of the portraits and let me experiment a bit. So what I’ve been working on recently, is portraying London-based artists, picturing them in their working environment, but also in their private life and them doing some kind of charitable work. In the end I’d like to choose three pictures for each person - one for each environment - and these would be on display in the gallery for about four months, beginning at the end of May when the Vogue exhibit ends. I’d like to show that being an artist doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a painter or a sculptor and I also want to draw some attention to the differences and similarities between peoples’ work and their private lives. Well and as my _'key ingredient'_ I want to show how a variety of people, different personalities with different professional backgrounds still can have something in common, which means being actively volunteering for some charity”, he smiled a warm smile at Louis and Louis chest tightened immediately. “The photos will be in black and white, because I personally think that you can express so much more when there is no colour distracting you, you know?”  
He looked expectantly at Louis now, a soft and warm expression in his face.

“Yes,” Louis answered weakly because he had no idea about the black and white thing, but whatever. He was interested in learning more, because all that Harry had said so far, sounded quite reasonable. And Harry's voice sounded great, by the way.

“But why me?”  
“Well I know you’re a brilliant tattoo artist, based on the tattoos I’ve seen on Lou and I’ve also read about you in a magazine about a year ago.” He paused for a moment and then grinned cheekily “I also might have stalked your shops’ Instagram.” Harry did something with his mouth at the end of his speech that sent sparks through Louis.

“When I mentioned you to Lou and asked her about her opinion, Lottie chimed in, as I had said before, and told me a bit about you and your work for Believe in Magic. That’s where I thought I might have found my missing piece. I've know all the other people involved before, but I felt the ‘collection’ was incomplete. And I am _really_ sorry for talking about you like an art object or something”, Harry smiled crookedly.  
Louis laughed out loud, “Haha, that’s okay. Don’t worry. I feel honoured now. No one has ever talked about me like that.”  
“But seriously, I didn’t know about Believe in Magic and it’s just…what you do is really kind! And I think you’d be a great addition to the other artists on display.” Harry’s voice sounded even deeper than before now. Louis actually shuddered because of the intensity of the vibration that Harry produced and it sent shivers through his whole body.

Well his work for Believe in Magic was… Back home in Doncaster there had been sweet little Madeline. Her and her parents lived next to Louis' family. Madeline was born when Louis was 18 and she became ill at the age of three. She suffered from leukaemia and sadly died when she was just about to turn five. This had hit Louis very hard. He had always been a family guy and loved his siblings dearly. Just imagining losing one of them was like the _worst_ nightmare ever. He never understood how Madeline’s parents made it through that time alive. Shortly before she passed away, Believe in Magic had taken her and her family for a special trip and that's how he learned about their existence. After Madeline's death he swore to himself that he wanted to support this charity as soon as there was either enough time or money. He went to college to study art and then went to work in a tattoo shop to learn all the basic skills. The first day after he had opened up his own tattoo parlour with his best friend Zayn up here in Shoreditch, he had made contact with the charity. Ever since then, he usually monthly spent one Saturday in hospitals all over London to paint on children’s faces for their family outings on the weekends. There wasn't too much money to give away on a regular basis and he enjoyed spending some time with the kids. Once Believe in Magic held a ball at the Natural History Museum and he spent five full hours painting the attending children’s faces from tigers to princesses to little Batmen for the big day. He thought it was a good thing to give something back. And though his specialities were definitely other things than Disney or fairy tale characters, the kids and their families were always very pleased with the results and Believe in Magic were apparently also very happy to have him around as a volunteer.

“Thank you Harry. And yes, it is a good thing, I think. I like to make the kids smile and forget. Even if it's just for a little while.”  
They both stayed quiet for a couple of minutes and then Louis asked, “so you said I was the last, um _character_ , who else did you take pictures of, if I may ask?”  
“ ‘Course you can. I took some shots of Perrie Edwards, the ballerina of the English National Ballet – “ “From Markova House?”  
“Uhm yes, do you know her?”  
“I do in a way. She and Zayn, my roommate, best friend and co-owner of the studio here, used to be a couple in their teenage years. But that was before she found herself a girlfriend,” Louis smirked, “but they’re on good terms. But I have, in fact, only met her a couple of times after premieres and ballet performances where I went to accompany Zayn.”  
Harry looked a bit taken aback. “Oh ok. Well we seem to have some connections - in a weird way.. Well, and then I took pictures of Liam Payne, you know, the cook. He used to work for Jamie Oliver but recently opened up his own restaurant. As I said, artists in a broader sense,” he laughed lightly. “Then there is Niall Horan. He is a good friend of mine and he’s with the London Symphony Orchestra. Then there’s Olly Murs, I guess you know him and Jade Thirwall, an actual painter”, Harry laughed again. “And Lou, of course. That’s why I visited her two weeks ago, I took some photos of her working behind the scenes at London Fashion Week.”  
“Wow, quite a line-up”, Louis said. “So what do you have in mind for me, then?”  
“Well I’d like to stick around for a bit, get to know you and then I think it would be nice to take some photos here while you work, and maybe of you at home and I’d like to come along when you do one of those hospital visits. But only if you agree, of course. And there’s one thing, um.. The money that was offered to me as a payment, well I’d like to donate all of it to the indirectly involved charities, but I can only do that if you’re in this, too.” Harry looked almost a bit insecure now.  
“Of course, we’ll do that!” If this meant helping Believe in Magic with some actual money _and_ spending time with Harry, Louis was totally in. He already liked him and he really wanted to get to know him. Not in _that_ way, but then..maybe also in that way..  
“Thank you very much. I’m glad you’re doing this Louis! It means a lot to me.” 

“I really like your thinking, Harry.” _And you_ …  
“So what did you mean with all the indirectly involved charities?”, Louis asked.  
“As I said before, all of you have something in common besides being Londoners and brilliant artists, because you're all volunteers. So Niall for example organises Golf camps in Ireland for kids with a poor background every summer. Perrie gives dancing classes at an activity centre for free. Liam does cooking classes in youth centres, too. Olly is also actively involved with an activity centre for children and Jade paints with elderly people in retirement homes all over London for free on a regular basis. Well and Lou is active for Refuge and gives make up classes to help women retrieve their self-confidence who are in therapy because of domestic abuse. So I guess and _really hope_ that when the photos will be on display it will raise awareness for all those centres and charities each of you is helping. Maybe one or the other will be inspired for getting involved, too. Oh and I am an _ambassador_ for the LGBTQ Switchboard here in London.”  
That last sentence sounded a bit like an invitation to Louis. Despite their serious conversation they were _definitely_ flirting and Harry might have just implied that he might not be interested in women… The way he had emphasized ambassador… Louis began to sweat.  
“Well, wow, that’s…that’s actually a great thing you’re doing Harry! I really want to be a part of it!”  
“I couldn’t do it without people like you….couldn’t do it without you”, and back was the sheepish grin from before.  
_Yup, definitely flirting_.  
Louis was already done with this day and it was only eleven o’clock in the morning. How could a grown man be so endearing? _Damn it_..  
“So, can I intrude your life and follow you around for a bit?” Harry burst out laughing. “Oh God, I’m so sorry Louis, that sounds slightly creepy. But I am actually a nice person I guess”, he blushed again. “I mean I just, ..I knew the others before so I only followed them around for _hours_... But since I don’t know you, _yet_... Before I’m taking the pictures I’d like to find out a bit about you.” He looked expectantly at Louis.  
“So you’re telling me you’re not doing this with everyone you meet and haven’t done this with the others?” Louis asked flirty.  
“Nope, I swear,” Harry laughed. “I just…I think your sister is right and you _are_ interesting.” _And fucking stunning and beautiful and cute_ , Harry added in his mind.

Louis smirked, “Well what about we start with some dinner…like tomorrow evening? Are you free?”  
“Not anymore”, Harry grinned.  
“This is settled then”, Louis answered, trying not to lose his shit. “Where do you live? Where shall we meet?”  
“I live in Hampstead, close to Kenwood House. And you?”  
“Camden, close to Primrose Hill. So we’re actually not that far away from each other. I mean for London’s standards”, he winked at Harry.  
“We should meet in the middle for a picnic one day”, Harry added laughingly.  
Louis didn’t answer, _couldn’t answer_ , he just smiled back. What a ridiculous conversation this was. If he wasn’t totally blind and absolutely incapable of reading other people, Harry was probably as affected by Louis as he was by Harry. Whatever was going on here was probably one of those once-in-a-lifetime things you usually did not experience yourself and only heard about from friends who had heard it from friends. _Right?_ But whatever it was, he was all in.  
After they had agreed on a time for the following day, Louis showed Harry around in the tattoo parlor and Harry seemingly only left because there was a client walking into the shop at around twelve.

“See you tomorrow Louis.”  
“See you, Harry. Have a nice day.”


	2. 2nd of March, 2016

It was Wednesday afternoon and Harry had been a bit hyped the whole day. He just couldn’t wait to meet Louis again.  
He had seen photos of him once or twice and instantly adjudged him as good looking, but he never expected him to be so overwhelming when meeting him the day before.  
When it was _finally_ time to get ready, he put on one of his many pairs of black skinnies, a white, lightly striped shirt and his black leather jacket.  
As agreed the day before, he took his car and drove to Louis’ place to pick him up. They had exchanged their addresses but actually, forgot to exchange their phone numbers.  
_How stupid can one be?_  
Harry was a little annoyed after he had recognized that, because he would have loved to text Louis, you know, just because.  
It took him about twenty minutes to get to Louis’ and Zayn’s place in Camden. A usual, he was too early. 

He stepped out of his car at ten to seven and waited, leaning against the warm engine bonnet, in front of Louis’ flat.  
When Louis came out of the house a couple of minutes later he walked straight towards Harry and pulled him in for a hug.  
_Oh Christ, what a lovely scent.. Did he always smell like that?_

“Hi Louis. How was your day? Are you well? Are you hungry?” Harry blurted out nervously.  
“Hi Harry. Good and yes and yes. How are you?” Louis laughed.  
Though he remained calm on the outside, Louis was nervous as fuck.  
He really didn’t know why Harry made him all flustered and wired, because they barely knew each other, but still.  
He just couldn’t help it.

“So thank you for picking me up. That’s quite a service”, he smiled shyly.  
“Well since I am the one who’s bothering you, I think it’s only fair, isn’t it?  
_All’s fair in love and war._ Louis thought.. _Oh Goodness, what was that for? What's happening with me?_  
  


“You’re not bothering me. I was looking forward to meeting you again, if I’m honest with you,” and there he did it. He laid it all out in front of Harry.  
Wow, barely two minutes into their work-date, date-date, whatever-date this was, and he had already embarrassed himself. _Great move, Louis._  
“Yeah? Me, too, actually”, Harry grinned and opened the car door for him.  
Louis stepped into Harry’s Range Rover and waited until Harry walked around the car.  
“So where are you taking me tonight?” he asked, as soon as Harry sat down.  
“Since you mentioned you liked pizza, I’m taking you to L’Antica. It’s not far from here, about ten minutes, and they have very good pizza.  
Their baker is from Napoli and so it's quite authenitic. I have dined there before with my sister, so I can personally recommend it.”  
“Sounds perfect. Let’s go.”  
After they had arrived and parked the car around the corner of the restaurant, they walked towards the entrance of the restaurant in this weird ‘I don’t really know you yet’-distance. But because Louis felt safe with Harry and at the same time utterly reckless, he shuffled closer to Harry and brushed his arm lightly.  
He looked up at Harry. “This is a nice way to start our little… thing,” Louis said and smiled dopeyly at the slightly taller man.  
“And I’m actually quite glad you’re not paying me for this, Harry,” he said and lifted his eyebrows eagerly.  
“I would never pay someone to go on a date with me. That’d be really awkward.” Harry replied, encouraged by the sudden closeness of Louis next to him and politely opened the door for him.  
So this _was_ a date, Louis thought happily.

Considering that they only knew each other for a day, it was a slightly strange night. They got along so well, it was almost creepy.  
They talked about how they were only two years apart with Louis being 29 and Harry being 27.  
They talked about their families and about how they both had actually managed to pursue their dream careers. They talked about college, friends and life in London.  
They just _instantly_ clicked and Louis felt a little ruffled. He had never experienced something like this before, but with Harry everything seemed so easy.  
They just got along. End of story.  
And they flirted like idiots. Louis secretly hoped that no one else was able to overhear their conversation. But the restaurant was tiny and intimate, he highly doubted it.  
For Harry it was the same, though they obviously did _not_ talk about it. To Harry it just felt right. He wanted to get to know Louis so badly in every aspect.  
When he had opened the car door for him earlier, Louis had stood so close. It overwhelmed him just to look at Louis and he had to concentrate hard not to stare at him.  
But he was also gripped by everything he said and by all the little private stories he was willing to share with him.  


They talked about Louis’ tattoos and that he had 27 of them. He showed him the easily visible ones scattered on his arms and told him about the meanings behind them.  
Most of them were a connection to his family and Harry just fell a little deeper for him because of that. Harry also teased him a little about the ones who were not visible in the red shirt that he wore and they both grinned at each other when Harry said, “I’d like to see what you’ve got hidden underneath that surface.”  
But despite all the openness, Harry might have hidden the little fact that he, also, had some tattoos of his own.. He deeply hoped there would be the perfect time to just _show_ them to Louis..

They also talked about Believe in Magic and Louis’ next visit to the hospital.  
“It’ll be inthree weeks, so I’m afraid you have to stick with me until then”, Louis smirked and looked Harry in the eyes.  
“I’m completely fine with that”, he simply replied. “I’d love to come along.”  
By the end of the night they had finally exchanged their phone numbers as well.  
They agreed on meeting again the next Friday. Which was in two days, _yay_.  
Louis still felt a bit reckless because what the hell, you didn’t meet a man like Harry every so often, and so he invited him over to his flat for their Friday date.  


“I’m not a great cook, but I will give my best. And Zayn will not be there. So even if the dinner is burnt and will end as a catastrophe, only you will know and he won’t tease me because of that”, Louis rolled his eyes and Harry felt a warm heat rush over him. He felt special that it would be okay for Louis if Harry knew he had ruined the dinner. But he wouldn’t ruin it, he was sure of it.  
“If it makes it easier for you, I can help”, Harry suggested with a small smile.  
“With the cooking?”  
“Well I could also do the washing up, but yes, I did mean the cooking.”  
And so they agreed to meet at eight. Harry promised to bring wine and dessert and they’d cook whatever Louis would like to. _Together_.

Harry felt so warm inside, it was magical. He was used to working with different people, almost on a daily basis and so he was used to creating a nice atmosphere and being friendly and all of that. But though they had only met yesterday, he already knew that with Louis it was different. It was not just friendly banter and a bit of the odd small talk. He wasn’t only interested in Louis because he would be part of the exhibition series. Being with Louis made him feel as if there was something building up between them. Something that had _nothing_ to do with work.  
He wanted to know every single detail about him and being with him just felt so naturally. If he had to describe Louis as a picture he’d go for a fast train probably, because he just….he totally knocked him off his feet. And yes, he had to admit that maybe the train was a bit cheesy and not exactly the right picture but well.  
He’d think of something else eventually.

So when the time came to head back home they were both happy and sad at the same time.  
Harry saw it in Louis’ eyes. He knew it wasn’t only him who felt a bit taken aback by all of this.  
So when he literally ran around his huge car to open the door for Louis when they arrived back at Louis’ flat,  
he almost stumbled over his own feet.  
_Classic, Harry. Just don’t_. He thought.  


But when he reached the car door, Louis just smiled at him mischievously. He totally had seen it.  
Louis got out of the car and turned towards Harry so they stood facing each other.  
“Thank you Harry. I had a great time. Looking forward to seeing you on Friday.”  
“Yeah, me too”, Harry answered with a raspy voice.  
They stared at each other for some seconds and the air between them suddenly became so tense, it was actually stressful.  
But neither of them moved. Neither Harry nor Louis wanted to do something wrong.  
After a minute that felt like an hour, Louis gave in and brushed a small tender kiss on Harry’s left cheek.  
Harry closed his eyes and Louis didn't pull back immediately.  
_Oh god, his lips feel so soft_. Harry was fucked. He was totally falling for Louis.  


“Goodnight Harry.”  
“Goodnight, Lou. Uhm, sorry..can I, can I call you Lou?”  
Louis nodded and walked away from him with a warm smile.  


_Fuck_. Harry thought.

What he didn’t know, was that Louis thought exactly the same.  
_Fuck_.

> _22:43_  
>  So good night, Lou.  
>  I had fun and  
>  You’re charming.  
>  H.

> _22:45_  
>  Good night Harry.  
>  Me, too.  
>  And you, too.  
>  L. 

> _22:45_  
>  U2?  
>  H.

> _22:46_  
>  Shut up, H. ;)  
>  Sleep well.  
>  L.


	3. 4th of March, 2016

On Friday at five Harry was on the verge of lunacy.  
Why did the time stand still when it was not supposed to stand still? Like all the bloody time when he was not with Louis?  
This had been the craziest week in his whole life so far.  
After Lou had announced she might know someone for his ‘Artists of London’ series, he had never expected that it would lead to this.  
To him being in total frenzy and not able to wait to being with said artist again. 

So he got dressed and went to get some wine and some fresh fruits for dessert. When he got back home he changed into a light blue shirt.  
He then took the mousse au’ chocolat that he had prepared this morning for their date tonight out of his fridge and head off to Louis’ place.  
Again, he was way too early.

When Louis opened the door, he took advantage of Harry carrying stuff in both of his hands and quickly gave him another kiss on the check and smiled brightly at him.  
“Hi Harold.”  
“Hi Lou,” Harry smiled back.  
“I brought some dessert, some fruits and some wine.”  
“So I see. Come in.”  
“Thank you. So I see you found yourself a nickname for me?”, Harry asked.  
“So I have”, Louis just grinned and led him inside.  
Harry walked inside and handed all the things over to Louis to get rid of his shoes.  
“So what are we going to cook, Lou?”  
“Chicken stuffed with mozzarella, wrapped in Parma ham with a side of home-made mash.”  
“Sounds good to me.”  
“Well, let’s see if we can do this first, shall we?” And he led him the way to the kitchen.

They started preparing everything side by side, carefully brushing each other’s army every now and then. They talked about how Louis had met Zayn and how they ended up being best friends and working with each other in their tattoo parlor. They talked about how the two of them shared the rented flat and that Harry had been lucky enough to have been able to already buy himself a small house.  
“But it’s a bit empty sometimes,” he said quietly, casting Louis a look that was filled with both, desire and hope. 

“I just hope that when I find the right person, that he is willing to move in with me there one day.”  
“So was it always a _he_ for you?” Louis asked bluntly. 

Harry was a bit taken aback by the directness of the question.  
He stuttered but finally got his answer out.  
“I was with a girl when I was about fifteen. She was my best friend and everyone kept asking why I didn't ask her out. I thought it was normal and eventually did ask her out.  
We kissed and held hands but I never wanted to do anything more. It just didn’t feel right but also not wrong. I was confused,” he laughed quietly.  
“So I finally figured that I might not be into girls after all.. I later had a boyfriend for a little while and one again in college but sadly they both behaved like dicks.  
But at least I knew for sure that I was - that I _am_ gay.”  
Then he took all of his courage and asked back, “What about you, Lou?” _I hope I didn’t read your signals all wrong_. He sighed to himself.

Louis blinked and waited a bit before he answered.  
_Louis, you’re such a tease_.  
“I also did have a girlfriend, Eleanor. We were a couple for three years and she’s a lovely girl but well, she’s a _girl_.  
It didn’t feel right, but everyone loved her and us and maybe similar to you, we just got along well, so I didn’t feel the need to change anything about the situation.  
But one day after footie practice I had some…well unpleasant encounter”, Louis laughed. “I sat in the changing room, staring at my best friend and getting an erection when he came out of the shower.” – _God, he was always quite direct, wasn’t he?_  
Harry felt his pants tighten at the thought of Louis wearing football shorts and nothing else.  
_Shut it Harry, this is not the right moment_.

“So it was a bit of a shock for both of us but he was the best friend I could’ve asked for. He helped me through the following months of opening up to everyone and though he quite clearly told me he was not into me in _that_ way, we remained friends. We still are actually, but he lives in Doncaster, so we don’t see each other as much.” 

“And so that day you found out you were …umm, are _not straight?_ ”

“I guess. I’ve been in a relationship with a guy after that incident, but we just didn’t fit. But before you keep asking, yes, I _am_ gay and I am single….currently.”  
And then he smiled the biggest smile Harry had ever seen.  


_Oh thank goodness, I did not read you wrong. And you’re single._ Harry freaked out internally.  


And that smug smile of Louis’ said everything he needed to know. Well not quite – there was still _one_ thing that he did need to know.  
“So you and Zayn. Did you ever?” – “Oh God, no”, Louis burst out. “I don’t know if he’d be interested in a man since I only know of his former girlfriends, but him and me – ugh, no! I love him like a brother and that’s definitely mutual.” Louis chuckled.  
He looked Harry in the eyes and then turned around to walk away from Harry.

“You wanna listen to some music, Harry?”  
_Good Lord Louis, you are a fucking tease and you know it_.  
“Sure, why not.” Harry wanted to smack his head on the kitchen counter. _What the fuck_. 

Louis opened his laptop on the dining table and put some music on.  
He actually put ‘He likes boys’ on.  


“Really Lou?” Harry burst into laughter and almost knocked his bowl of potatoes over.  
“Lou, you are something….I know we only met this week, _but I like you a lot_.”  
Louis’ face beamed and his cheeks turned a bright pink.  
“I was just teasing”, he said and then changed the song.

“We should still get this stuff done, otherwise we’ll starve.”  
_LOUIS!!!_  
Louis then had the nerves so stand as closely to Harry as possible and Harry was about to explode.  
He kept touching Harry’s wrist while chopping happily next to him.

A moment later, Harry turned towards the sink to wash his hands, just to get away from Louis.  
But of course, Louis followed him to the sink and bumped his hip into Harry’s to shove him to the side.  
By now someone was singing _‘Want you so bad’_ , and Harry completely surrendered.  
He gave up his internal struggles to remain a straight face, _haha pun intended_ , and turned sideways to look at Louis. 

Louis looked back challengingly, hands resting on his hips.

***Poof***  
Harry grabbed him, putting his right arm on Louis’ waist and his left hand on his neck.  
For a second their eyes locked and then Harry pulled him towards himself. He crushed into Louis with all the power that was left inside him and kissed him fully on the lips.  
Hard.  
They fell back and crushed against the fridge behind Louis and Harry pushed himself against Lou even harder. It was not like he wanted to teach him a lesson but as unsure and shy and squeaky Harry could be, as confident he could equally be when he wanted something...or someone..  


_I need you Lou_.  


Harry kissed him as if there was nothing else left in the world and _finally_ Louis kissed him back.  
He put his hands around Harry and grabbed his bum and his neck and opened his mouth further. He pushed his tongue into Harry’s mouth and licked around in search for Harry’s tongue. They kissed sloppily and dirty and Louis’ hands were all over Harry and Harry’s hands were all over Louis.  
Until the timer for the chicken went off.  
_Of course. Of fucking course_.

“Really?”  
This time Louis lost it and Harry just grinned at him smugly.  
“Oh fuck off Harold. Let’s get this chicken out of the oven.”  
Harry was a little bit satisfied that Louis wasn’t as cool as he had acted in the hour before, after all. 

He stifled a laugh and Louis turned around to look at him blankly. But it didn’t take him long to break into a smile again.  
“What? I enjoyed that, too and yes I like you, too. I don’t even know how and why this happens so fast, but it does. You happy now?”  
“Yup.” Harry smiled from ear to ear and when they finally finished cooking their dinner, they sat down to eat.  
They sat facing each other and remained mostly quiet while they were eating. But they kept staring at each other, observing every move the other made.

After they finished the chicken they immediately did the washing up, pressed closely to each other.  
When they were done, Harry turned to Louis and said,  
“Next time you’ll come to my house. I’ve got a dishwasher so it won’t take us too long to get back to the important things.”  
“You mean dessert?”  
_Lou, you little shit._  
“Why are you like that, Lou?”

Louis took the mousse out of the fridge, put the fruits that Harry had brought along in a bowl and then went over to the sofa.  
“C’mere babe,” he said softly.  
_Babe_  
“Sounds nice when you say that”, Harry muttered fondly.  
Harry then followed suit and sat next to him on the couch.  


“I have never in my life felt something like this before Lou. I mean, everything is happening a bit fast, I know, but I’d really much like to kiss you again,” Harry pleaded.  
“Can I?”  
But instead of answering, Louis leaned closer towards Harry and pecked him lightly on the lips.  
Then he kissed him a second time, this time a _wee bit_ closer to a real kiss.  
And when he leaned in for a third time, Harry joined him and they were snogging again.  
This time more slowly than before, where they had intertwined in an outburst of emotions. But it wasn’t less pleasant. Just different.  
They kissed, and kissed and kissed until Louis’ playlist went silent and until they heard a key in the door and Zayn came back home.  


Louis introduced the two men and since they had completely forgotten about the dessert due to all the kissing, they sat down with Zayn and shared the fruits and mousse. After that Harry headed home. But of course he didn’t leave until they had agreed on when to meet next.  
Harry couldn’t wait for it.  


And as for Louis…well Louis might have finally found something, or someone to be more precisely, to thank his little sis’ for.  
Him and Lottie might be even from now on…

Half an hour after Harry had left, Louis received a text:

  


>   
>  _23:42_  
>  It was lovely.  
>  I miss you already.  
>  Sleep well. H.

>   
>  _23:44_  
>  I enjoyed it very much, too.  
>  Good night Harold.  
>  I like you. L

>   
>  _23:45_  
>  I like you, too, Lou.  
>  Can’t wait to get to know you better.  
>  H.

>   
>  _23:45_  
>  You’re sleazy.  
>  Still like you, though.  
>  L.

>   
>  _23:46_  
>  XX  
>  H.

>   
>  _23:46_  
>  XX  
>  L.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that was playing in the background when they finally kissed is "Want you so bad" by Keywest.  
>   
> The lyrics are rather dramatic, but I love the song and often listened to it while I was writing this fic. :)


	4. 25th of March, 2016

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It finally gets steamy...^^

The last few weeks had passed in a blur in a way. When Louis thought about it, all he could see was Harry.  
Harry and his wonderfully deep green eyes and his plush lips that he really, _reallyy_ liked to kiss.  
They had shared lots of dates by now and though Harry hadn’t been able to make it to Louis’ hospital visit this month due to another work appointment, he had accompanied Louis during one of his football training sessions. He had enjoyed watching Louis and had taken some pics of him for his “private” section of the exhibit photo set. 

Louis had also been very aware of the fact that himself wearing his football kit had sent Harry into a state of frenzy.  
After Louis had taken a quick shower and changed back into his normal clothes after the practice,   
he found Harry waiting outside his footie club, leaning against his car in a coat and a snuggly scarf.  
He greeted Harry with a light kiss on the cheek and thanked him for coming.  
“You do realise that without this jacket here you look way too hot for me to keep a straight face, let alone keep myself from thinking about you being sweaty in other places than this football pitch?” Harry asked huskily.  
Ugh, Louis lost all his inner balance and suddenly felt like stirred cake.  


“Harry I – “  
“Just kiss me.” He grabbed Louis’ bag and put it on the ground, taking him by his arms to close the distance between them.  
Then Harry met Louis’ lips and they kissed like teenagers in a lone car park, leaning against a car. _In the evening cold_.  
But Louis felt hot inside and he assumed it was the same for Harry.  
They had agreed quite early that they wanted to wait with.. _physical activities other than kissing_ , because everything else had happened so fast.  
But right in this moment it was incredibly hard for both of them not to hop inside of that car to get rid of all their clothes right there on the spot.

This had happened three days ago and they hadn’t been able to meet until today. So it was Friday evening and Louis was on the verge of lunacy because he wanted to feel Harry so badly. He didn’t want to wait a minute longer. Literally.

So Louis rang Harry’s doorbell at eight pm sharp and when Harry opened the door in a sheer black shirt - _oh Jesus Christ_ -  
Louis tossed the small bunch of flowers that he had brought into Harry’s right arm and on half of his chest and immediately began kissing him heatedly on the mouth.

Harry got the hint.  
He put his left arm around Louis’ waist and pulled him close to his chest. And kissed back, just as passionately.  
Apparently those four weeks of getting to know each other were enough for Louis and Harry _absolutely_ agreed with him on that.

They stumbled through Harry’s hallway into the kitchen of the small house and Harry pushed Louis away for a minute.  
“'Lemme just put those in some water. ‘K? They are beautiful by the way. Thank you, babe.”  


Louis’ took advantage of Harry handling the flowers and got rid of his shoes and his coat.  
It was still a little fresh outside on some days, but Louis generally hated socks and so whenever a sense of spring was in the air - like today - he simply refused to wear them.  
So he stood barefoot in Harry’s kitchen, with a plain black jumper and tight red jeans, looking expectantly at Harry.  
Harry admired his looks for a minute and immediately fell in love with Louis’ ankles.  
Louis though, was so fixated on Harry’s gaze, that he simply didn’t see the black outlines of the ink on Harry’s skin through the shirt.  


/p>He closed the distance between the two of them and pressed himself against Harry for the second time within the span of merely three minutes.  
“I want to feel you.” He breathed through a kiss.  
Harry’s answer was a loud groan, followed by a kiss that spoke for itself.  


He took hold of Louis’ legs and pushed him upwards until Louis sat on his hips, his legs twined around Harry’s body.  
“Hold tight, babe,” he said and started to walk towards the staircase that lead up to his bedroom.  
“I won’t ever let you go, again,” Louis said heatedly.  
Harry felt even warmer inside now and carefully walked them up the stairs.  
His bedroom door was slightly ajar and so he easily lead them through and into the middle of the room.  
Harry stood in front of the bed and Louis slid down his legs, until he stood in front of Harry, facing him.

When Louis finally ripped off Harry’s shirt he almost froze, right there on the spot.  
On Harry’s stomach sat a huge butterfly, he had two adorning swallows on his chest and two nice little ferns that lead down to his crotch were suddenly visible as well.  
“Harry….why didn’t you tell me? Fuck, you are so beautiful. And that ink there just highlights you quite nicely, I must say.”  
He shamelessly looked up and down Harry’s naked upper body.  


“Where did you get them? For your own sake I really hope that it was not in London. I’d be offended by now,” he laughed light-heartedly.  
“I had them done in LA when I stayed there for work for a couple of weeks last year. So no, no offence intended.  
And I am really sorry, but I just wanted to see that face you just made.. That’s why I didn’t tell you”, Harry grinned. “Do you like them?”  
“I just told you so, silly. This actually turns me on, babe.” He licked his lips, tossed Harry’s shirt on the floor and came closer again.  
“Can we agree that I will tell you all about my soon-to-be-uncovered tattoos after we made love?”  
Harry had never seen such determination and desire in Louis’s eyes before.  


“God, yes. Yes, of course. I, just…come here,” he said, pleading for Louis to drag him to bed.  
Louis then pushed against Harry so that they both fell on Harry’s bed. Louis laid on top of Harry and started kissing Harry’s earlobes.  
He planted little kisses on his neck and upper chest and finally licked around Harry’s tattoos.  
“I really didn’t know I liked this so much, but-good God!” Louis exhaled throatily and kept licking and touching Harry’s ferns.  
He let his tongue slip down to the waistline of his jeans and began unbuttoning it.  


“Get it off, Lou. Please.”  
Louis pulled Harry out of his jeans and while he was kneeling over him, Harry also unbuttoned Louis’ tight red jeans and sled them off his legs.  
“You’re beautiful”, Harry gasped. “I don’t know how I made it through the last weeks without touching you somewhere inappropriate.”  
_Inappropriate_...Harry was such an old-fashioned Gentleman - that was for sure. _Who would even express himself like that?_

“Well, I thought of you once or twice while I was having a shower”, Louis smirked.  
“Sorry, I couldn’t help it.”  
“Please, stop talking Lou and get these boxers off”, Harry demanded and almost ripped Louis’ underwear to shreds.  
“I can’t…I need you. Now.”  


After that being said, everything became blurry and hasty and they kept kissing each other.  
In hindsight, when Harry thought of this moment, their first time in bed together, he thought of it as a wonderful haze of limbs and kisses and multiple orgasms.  
Louis had told him that he liked it both, giving and receiving, but in that moment he wanted to take Harry in.  
Both of them hadn’t had sex in a while, so they took their time but eventually ended up, making love in the most intimate and probably loudest way possible.  
_Well at least that was what Harry thought_.  


When Harry had moved inside Louis, touching him in his most sensitive region they both panted heavily and groaned against each other.  
They exchanged sloppy kisses and after a while Louis whimpered, “God, Harry, I’m…I” and Harry answered with coming inside him while screaming his name.  
While he was coming, he kept stroking Louis and while Harry was still riding on his high, Louis joined him and screamed back at him.  
They looked at each other for a while and just laid there, doing nothing. After a few moments, just as Harry wanted to get up to get rid of the condom and to pick up a towel for Louis, Louis took the condom off and shamelessly went down on him.  
After they had both come, whatever how many times, Harry finally got to get rid of the sticky condom and brought some towels with him when he climbed back into the bed.  
He snuggled up against Louis and felt incredible. Worn out, yes, but incredibly good.

“Lou, you are perfect.” Harry smiled a bit dumbly at Louis.  
“I don’t think so”, Louis laughed. “But thanks.” He paused.  
“I like you so much Harry. You are…so sweet and funny and kind. And you are smoking hot.”  
“Thanks, same goes for you”, Harry said. “I hope you have realized by now that I don’t only want you for your photos?”  
Louis laughed, “Noooo, but I only wanted you for my fame.” He chuckled.  
“Do you think I haven’t noticed that by now? I’m grateful for that project of yours, though, because this is what brought us together in the first place, right?” 

They laid in bed for a while and talked about those tattoos of Louis’, that Harry hadn’t seen until this day. Louis was quite sincere when he told him about his ‘It is what it is’ lettering and that it stood for him being gay, but that his sexuality shouldn’t matter when it came to him being a decent human being.  
“I guess you know how I mean it?” Louis asked.  
“I think so, Lou. But as I told you before, to me you are perfect. I really like who you are.”  
Louis laughed. “Did you just quote ‘Love, Actually’? Haha, oh Harry. Now I like you even more.”


	5. 27th of March, 2016

After they had spent half the weekend all over each other, they had agreed to both spend Sunday night within their own homes.  
Louis said he didn't want Zayn to feel abandoned and wanted to spend the afternoon with him.   
_Probably gossiping about what **exactly** had happened the previous hours_..  
But since Harry wanted to try out some new camera techniques for close-up shots anyway, he didn't really mind spending the rest of the day apart.  
_Whom was he kidding_ \- of course he did mind. He missed Louis as soon as they parted.  


Louis did have an appointment first thing Monday morning and Harry would be there to accompany him and to finally take pictures of him while working.  
Luckily their time together wasn't limited to their cooperation for the exhibition series, otherwise there would be only one ocassion left after that.  
They would have _all_ the time now.   
Harry was _very_ sure about that.

 

>   
>  _21:12_  
>  So, is 11 ok?  
>  Does the Lady agree?  
>  H.

>   
>  _21:15_  
>  Yes. And the ‘Lady’ is only 28. ;)  
>  Don’t bring coffee, I’ll make tea.  
>  One of those fine things I can do..  
>  L.

>   
>  _21:17_  
>  I happen to know of something else you do well..  
>  You’re amazing.  
>  See you tomorrow, babe.  
>  XX  
>  H.

  


>   
>  _21:17_  
>  ;)  
>  Sleep well.  
>  Sweet dreams, Harold.  
>  XX.  
>  L.

********

_28th of March, 2016_

When Harry arrived at half past ten in the morning, Louis greeted him with a kiss and a hug as if they hadn’t seen each other for at least a week.  
“I knew you’d be early.”  
“Well of course, I wanted to show some of my affection for you before we have to get to work”, Harry grinned.

Twenty minutes, approximately 63 kisses and two cups of tea later, Lucy, the ‘lady’ arrived in the parlor.  
“Good morning”, she said cheerfully.  
"Hi there", Harry greeted.  
“Oh goodness, I’m _so_ nervous”, Lucy exhaled and sighed.  
“Hi love, come on in. You know you don’t have to be afraid”, Louis smiled at her reassuringly.  
Then Harry took a step forward, shook her hand and introduced himself. 

“Thank you for letting me be there and don’t worry, Louis is very gentle”, Harry said.  
He might have sported a bright red on his cheeks, which left Lucy already assuming that these two men were more than just artist and art.   
_You know, so to speak._  
Harry would definitely agree on that. To him Louis was pure art and he wouldn't mind taking pictures of him for the rest of his life.

“So ‘you still up for the flowers?” Louis asked.  
“Yes. Just like we talked about it last week.”  
Her cheeks started to burn.   
“Sorry, this is my first, I have no idea how much it will hurt”, she said in an apologising matter towards Harry.  
“It’s alright. Would you like to tell me about you? To distract yourself a little?” Harry asked.  


_Harry! You're the best._ Louis thought.

Harry and Lucy began to chat while Louis started to prepare his instruments. Every now and then he glanced towards Harry and threw him a smile.   
It was only that after he had shaved and cleaned Lucy’s wrist and forearm for the treatment,  
that he was totally focused on her and his work.  
He didn't look up to either of them and so it was Harry’s turn to glance at him every now and then, endearment fully on display.  
of course he also took some photos of Louis and joked around with Lucy during the procedure,  
trying to divert her attention away from the pain.   
He had done some close-ups of Louis, which left Louis grinning like the Cheshire cat while still focusing on Lucy.  
To distrcat himself from looking up to Harry he started playing with his tongue around his mouth.  
This left Harry with a warm feeling inside his chest and somewhere else, standing forlornly in the room.  
No one had said anything for a couple of minutes, until Lucy suddenly burst out,  
“God, you two are so cute together! You make me blush just from watching you. And I totally feel like an intruder.”

“What?”   
Harry was totally drawn in by Louis’ eyelashes that it took him a minute to process the question.  
“Um, thanks I guess.” He grined.  
He grinned and thought about how they now were officially boyfriends.  


They hadn’t discussed the _technicalities_ , just about after Louis had pinned him against his kitchen counter on Saturday morning,  
demanding access while he was caressing Harry’s bum and sucking a love-bite just below his collarbones.  
Thinking of this, Harry instantly went scarlet red and tried to hide his arousal when he thought about how they had spent ages  
admiring each other’s looks while they stood in the shower next to each other, barely able to keep their hands to themselves. 

“Awww! You are so cute”, Lucy squeaked, taking Harry back into Louis’ and Zayn’s tattoo parlor.  
“I absolutely want to be invited to your wedding”, she then declared with a big fat grin on her face.  


With the word wedding being spoken out loud, Louis _finally_ looked up from Lucy’s wrist and exchanged looks with Harry.  
That was an idea that definitely could wait, since all of their relationship, oh yes, _relationship_ , had happened so fast,  
but that was something that they would definitely get back to one day.


	6. 9th of April, 2016

“So the hospital staff at Evelina’s is alright with me being there? And the parents?”  
“Of course Harry, I would have told you otherwise. And I guess they are all as thrilled as I am, that you're helping. I arranged everything with Believe in Magic last week and they expect us to be there at ten. So we’d better get moving”, Louis smiled.  


It was Saturday morning and the day of their joint hospital visit had finally arrived.  
Harry had driven to Louis’ flat by car, but they had earlier agreed on taking the tube into the city for the day.  
“As much as I like your car, we’re doing this my way on Saturday.” Louis had said and laughed, when they had discussed the details for the day.  


Camden Town station was a couple of minutes’ walk away but it was the closest station to Louis’ and Zayn’s flat that would lead them to Evelina  
hospital and right into the heart of the city.  
Louis reached out for Harry’s hand and he didn’t let go until they had to change the tube lines at Charing Cross station and had to get their tickets out to get through the barriers.  


They arrived at the hospital at quarter to ten and ‘Eva’, as the name tag of the nurse implied, was already waiting for them eagerly.  
“Hello Gentlemen”, she greeted them.   
“So you must be the famous Tommo and you must be Harry Styles”, she laughed broadly.  
“Haha, yes, that’s Harry and I am Louis. But you can call me Tommo if you like.” And they shook hands.  


The London staff of Believe in Magic had known Louis for quite a while now and since there was another Louis on the volunteers team, they preferred calling him Tommo.  


“So who will we meet today?” Louis asked eagerly.  
“It’s Maisie and Luca. They will be released for the weekend by twelve, so you have about an hour with each of them.   
Their parents are already here, too. Luca has to undergo another screening right now, so I’d suggest you meet Maisie first?” Eva said.  
Louis and Harry both nodded and followed Eva through the corridors of the children’s wing.

They were led into a colourful and very bright room that seemed to be some kind of breakout room.   
In the room stood a man and a woman, a boy and a girl. Louis first walked towards the little girl whom he estimated to be about eight and introduced himself.  
“You must be Maisie?”

They all shook hands and evetually Eva left Harry and Louis with the Jones', Maisie's family, to look after another little patient.  
Maisie’s parents slowly opened up and told them about their plans for the weekend. They wanted to take Maisie and her little brother Jeremy to the London Zoo  
and they planned on meeting up with the kid’s grandparents for dinner after their visit.

Maisie and Louis immediately chatted away as it turned out that Maisie was as massive a fan of football as was Louis.  
Despite this fact though, she wanted to have ‘fairy flowers’ all over her face and wanted to ‘look pretty’,   
when Louis asked her how he could help her to get ready for the special day with her family.

Harry chatted with Jeremy and the kids’ parents in the meantime and at some point started taking pictures of Louis painting on Maisie’s face.  
During their tube ride Harry had jokingly asked whether Louis used natural organic colours on the kids, and an immediate   
“Of course, Harry! I won’t paint risky chemicals on those kids”, was the answer.  
If they hadn’t been on the Northern Line in that moment, Harry would have given Louis _everything_ for that answer.  
Seeing him being at ease with Maisie now made Harry’s heart melt, once again.  


_Fuck, I think I need to marry you, Lou_.  


Harry took some beautiful shots of Louis and Maisie and he promised the Jones’ that he would send them the photos for free.   
_Of course, because this was Harry_.  


Louis went to clean his utensils shortly after that.   
Since there was some time left until Luca would arrive, Harry suggested to take some family portraits while he was at it anyway.  
Well and so it happened that Louis came back into the room as Harry made silly faces at the Jones family while taking pictures of them.  
He looked ridulously adorable, standing somewhere in this hospital, somewhere in the middle of London  
and if Louis hadn’t already fallen for Harry, this probably would have been the moment to catch up on that.  


_Fuck, I think I need to marry you, Harold_.  


Just after Harry was done entertaining and photographing the Jones family, a little boy appeared behind the the glass door.  
“Hi there, you must be Luca”, Louis greeted him.  
He was probably a bit younger than Maisie.  
Just seconds after his arrival, Luca’s mom and dad and Eva, the friendly nurse from before, entered the room behind him.  


Harry invited the Jones’ to come to the vernissage at the gallery and politely said goodbye to the four of them and Louis followed suit.  
Then Louis chatted a bit with Luca and began drawing a dragon’s face onto Luca.  


The second hour that they spent in Evelina’s children’s wing pretty much was a repetition of the first hour, including all the fond exchanges between Harry and Louis.  


In the end they also invited Luca’s family - of course - to come along to the opening of the exhibition if they could make it   
and Harry promised to send them all the photos that he had taken anyway.  
They said goodbye to the little family and to Eva, who happily winked at them as they walked out of the hospital, again, hands intertwined. 

“Thank you so much Lou. I really enjoyed that!”  


“Thank you, Harry. This means a lot to me. I loved having you in there with me. I didn’t know you were quite the kid magnet”, Louis laughed softly.  


“Same goes for you, Lou. I actually like that.”  


They grinned at each other giddily and decided to get some cupcakes on their way home.  
“Actually that was my plan since I suggested taking the tube”, Louis grinned cheekily. "The Primrose Bakery has _the best cupcakes_ and I bet you'll like them."   


“I’m always up for something tasty.” Harry exclaimed with a _very_ smug look on his face and turned around to pull Louis in for a kiss.  



	7. 28th of May, 2016

“Can you remember when I suggested to meet in the middle of your place and my place the day we first met?” Harry asked.  


It was shortly after ten pm and it was the night of Harry’s vernissage at the National Portrait Gallery.  
The opening had started at six o'clock and Harry was very pleased with the way the night had turned out.  
All of his artists had made it to celebrate with him, his mom and sister were there, Louis' mom and Lottie and Lou had showed up,  
Maisie's and Luca's families both had stayed for an hour and each of the involved charities had sent a representative for the night.  
And of course the best of all was, that Louis was there with him as his date and boyfriend.  


“Of course, babe. Has the day finally come?” Louis grinned.  
“Well, I do have a picnic blanket and a well-stocked basket in the back of my car and I’d really much like to kidnap you right now.”  
“Harry, this is _your_ party, _I_ should be kidnapping _you_ , not the other way round”, Louis chuckled.  
“Then please do so, Lou. But… I think I might need to say goodbye to everyone.”  
“Babe, that’s not exactly how kidnapping works”, Louis laughed out loud.  
“But you're right. Go on then, my handsome star of the evening.”  
And with that, Harry went off into the crowd.

Louis looked after him and instantly decided that Harry should wear suits way more often. He looked hot as hell tonight.  
Not that he didn't look hot on a normal occassion, but this suit... _yumm_.  


Louis was on his way to say goodbye to Zayn, whom he had brought along for a fun night out, only to find him flirting with Liam Payne,  
the cook, in a dark corner of the gallery, which left him stunned and turning on his heels instantly.  
_No goodbye for Zayn then_. Well that was unexpected. He definitely had to interrogate Zayn the next day,  
whether this was as unexpected to Zayn, as it was to Louis. He laughed internally. This was a queer haven.  
Perrie Edwards, the ballet dancer and Zayn’s ex-girlfriend and Jade Thirwall, the sweet painter whom he had only met this evening, turned out to be a couple as well.  


He walked across the room to say goodbye to Niall, the lad from the London Symphony Orchestra who seemed to be one of the most  
cheerful, jolly and nice persons, Louis had ever met. They talked for a couple of minutes about music and football and then Harry was back, hugging Louis from behind. 

“There you are, babe”, Louis smiled happily.  
“Niall, it was nice meeting you and we will definitely come to listen to your Proms concert in July!”  
They all shook hands and then Harry and Louis went off to see their moms.  


Luckily both Anne and Jay had decided to stay with their Gemma and Lottie for the night, which left Louis and Harry to be able   
to spend the night together.  
Harry would meet his mom and sister for a lunch the next day and so would Louis.

The vernissage had been the night they both met each other’s moms for the first time.  
Louis had instantly clicked with Anne who had specially come down for the event from Manchester.  
She gave Louis a warm hug when they parted and said, “I really hope the two of you will come to visit me, soon! It’s been so lovely to meet you Louis.  
Take care of my Harry.” She smiled warmly at Louis and Louis smiled back.  
They bid their farewell to Gemma, too and Louis was incredibly happy that him and ‘Harry’s ladies’, as he referred to them, had instantly got along so well.

After saying good night to the Styles’, they went to see Jay, Louis’ mom.  


“Thank you so much for coming, Ma!” Louis hugged her tightly.  
“Boo Bear, I’d fly to Paris for an exhibit that features you!” She beamed brightly at her son and then turned to face Harry, who grinned at Louis.  
_Boo Bear. Oh yes, my Lou Boo Bear. I like that._  
“Thank you so much Harry for having my baby in your exhibit and for supporting all those charities. You are a kind-hearted man and I am glad you two met!  
I hope you will visit me, soon.” Louis blushed and slightly squirmed at his mom’s words and smiled shyly at Harry.  
“Thank you Mrs. Deakin! It was lovely meeting you and we will visit, soon. I’d really much like to know where Lou grew up.” 

They made their way out through the crowd and Louis took Harry’s hand in his as they walked to Harry’s parked car.  


They drove in silence through the illuminated London night and came to a halt in a street across Primrose Hill.  
Harry took the basket and picnic blanket from his car boot and they walked towards the small park, side by side.  


“Actually I think this was the best project I was ever allowed to work on”, Harry trailed off, torn between gazing at the stars and Louis bright smile.  
They walked up the 78 metres of the small hill and Louis suddenly burst out laughing.  


“I think this is the most ridiculous thing I have done since college!”  


Harry almost looked a little hurt, so Louis quickly continued, “climbing a hill in a suit, I mean. That’s definitely not what they’re meant for.”  
Harry relaxed and nodded. “That’s true. Hmm, I guess I didn’t think that through”, he joined Louis’ laughter and they continued their little hike. 

A couple of minutes later they arrived at the top. Harry spread out the blanket and invited Louis to sit with him.

“Why did we not meet earlier? In a way we have so many connections. Why did it take so long?”, Louis asked almost sadly.  
“I guess, maybe we just had to wait for the right timing. And we _have_ met finally.  
I have never been so genuinely happy about something, my Boo Bear”, Harry grinned.  
_So he had definitely heard what Jay had called him earlier_.  


“I love you.” It came out soft but steady.  


Harry turned his head towards Louis and locked their eyes.  
Crinkles spread all over Louis' face and he smiled fondly at him.  


“And I love _you_ Lou. I love you, too.”

Louis' smile even widened and it was one of those smiles that Harry had fallen in love with during those past weeks.  
Harry was completely relaxed.  
Louis then leaned in and gently kissed him. They sat on their little blanket exchanging caresses in the middle of the night, in the middle of a park, in the middle of London.  


And they stayed until it dawned.


	8. 17th of May, 2017

“Lou? Babe? I’d like to show you something before we leave. Where are you?.” 

Harry, who was dressed in black skinny jeans and a nice pink shirt with white dots looked for Louis in their bedroom.  
He was not in there, so he defeatedly trotted into the kitchen.  
Harry was so nervous, he could _literally hear_ his bare feet hitting the floor with each step.  
He also knew there was no real reason to actually be nervous, but still.

They were about to go out for their weekly date night dinner but Louis was nowhere to be found.

Louis, who was also dressed in black skinnies and a very tight, black long sleeved shirt,  
finally came out of the bathroom and followed Harry into the kitchen.

“Sure, what is it, babe?” Louis asked as he came into the room, talking to Harry’s back.

Louis and Zayn had given up their flat at the end of November the year before,  
because they had decided that their bachelor's apartment wasn't suitable anymore.  
Zayn, who had discovered that he wasn't exclusively attracted to girls after meeting Liam Payne,  
the cook of Harry's exhibition, had moved in with said cook, around the same time as Louis had moved in with Harry.  
Niall, who had also been a part of Harry's exhibition in 2016 and who had become a good friend and regular visitor at their flat,  
still made jokes about the sudden _gayness_ he was surrounded by now. 

It was only after Harry turned around to face Louis, that Louis noticed the many, many white rose petals  
that were spread around the counter in the middle of their kitchen.  
He also noticed two massive black cupcakes with white frosting, accompanied by four photographs. At first glance it looked a bit like one of Harry’s very own and very weird still lifes that he liked to publish via his Instagram.

“Harold, what’d you do there? You do stick to your colour pattern, eh?”, Louis mocked and smiled at Harry.  
Harry seemed a bit tense and way too concentrated for _just_ cupcakes and roses.  
But sometimes he just drifted off into his own world, developing ideas for great photo shoots or whatever.  
It just happened.  


Louis took a step forward and looked a little closer at the four photographs, that were - _of course_ \- also in black and white and spread between the rose petals.

“What’s this, babe?”, Louis asked curiously.  
Harry turned to face him.  
“Well, what's your guess?”, he smiled tensely and seemed to wait for a response.  
But Louis didn’t get it. ”Well...um….there are four pictures of people, randomly put together and it looks great?”, he tried.  
But according to Harry’s face he had massively failed with this guess. 

“Sorry babe, I don’t see what you did there. i mean the roses smell gorgeous and the cupcakes look quite tasty  
and _oh_ -there’s a hot picture of you!”  
He tried again and thought for a moment. “No, sorry Harry, please help me out.”

“Well there's a pic of Will Smith." _Why?_ Harry said. "There's you, Mary of Denmark and me….” 

“Yes??.....Wait, what? Stop! Say that again!” Now Louis tensed because he suddenly understood.  
_Oh God, Harry you sappy bastard_.  


“It’s ‘Will’, it’s ‘You’, it’s ‘Mary’ and ‘Me’.” Harry began to form a slow smile and looked expectantly at Louis. 

“Oh _Jesus Christ!_ Did I just hear the worst pun intended proposal, ever?”, Louis said slowly and laughed out hysterically. He beamed at Harry, and Harry suddenly went down on one knee and took Louis’ left hand in his.  


“You might have”, he grinned back.  


“Oh dear god! Harry!”  


“Louis, will you do me the honour of becoming my husband?” He looked sheepishly up at Louis, concerned in a way, and waiting for an answer.  


“YES! Babe, YES! What the…of course!!!” And he joint Harry on the floor and crushed himself into Harry.  
It took about ten second until they both fell to the side and landed next to each other on the kitchen floor.  


“Yes, babe. Yes, Harry. I'd _love_ to be your husband”, he laughed, still a little hysterically.  
“I feel so corny now” He grinned and licked his lips, while staring at Harry.  


“I love you so much Lou.”  


Louis didn’t answer verbally, but kissed Harry, the way they ended their conversations on a regular basis.  
He pushed himself up until he completely lay on top of Harry.  
Neither of them said a word for several minutes, they just stared at each other, breathing heavily. 

Though Louis was on top of the world, he also almost felt a _little bit_ betrayed because he intended on being the one popping the question.

“Soo….this dinner we were about to have", he started, as he trailed his fingers along Harry's jaw line.  
"Was this just a pretence to dress up your sweet bum to look good for me?”  
“Might have been”, Harry answered sheepishly and then pulled Louis down to entangle their bodies once more.  
They kissed, slowly and sweet and within the span of thirty seconds the mood changed to rougher, filthier kisses.  
They rolled around the floor and just as Louis was about to get rid of Harry’s black skinnies, Harry grabbed hold of Louis' wrists and locked their eyes.  


“Lou, I don’t have a ring for you, yet, because I want to pick them out _with you_. And I want you and me to be marked on each other’s bodies.”  


“What do you have in mind sweetums?”  
“I thought of a rope and anchor….because they don’t work without each other and you just pulled me into your life as forcefully as only you could do.”  


_Harry had finally found the right image for Louis._  


“That’s actually a good idea. Nice one.”  
Harry’s face fell a little. “What? Only good and nice?”  
“Babe, I have seen quite many couple tattoos in my life”, Louis laughed. “But I do like it. I really do”, he reassured him.  
“So I’m your rope, and you’re my anchor?” Louis asked.  
“I think so, yes.”  
“Well I’d totally agree on that.” 

With those details settled, Louis continued getting rid of Harry’s skinny jeans and that pretty, pretty shirt,  
with Harry imitating Louis’ every move until they were both completely naked.  


Harry suddenly changed their positions and landed on top of Louis.  
He nibbled softly on Louis’ earlobe, then licked along his neck and went down to his collarbones.  


Harry continued to place kisses all over Louis' torso and as a very heavy sigh from Louis indicated that he wanted _more_ , he stretched out his right hand and searched for Louis' crotch.  
He began stroking his beautiful fiancé but after a few moments Louis turned Harry around and pushed Harry under himself.

The determination was back in Louis' eyes and honestly, Harry _loved_ that look.

Harry stretched out his neck to steal a dirty little kiss from Louis. Then he laid back on the floor and tried to relax on the rather cold stone.  


Louis licked along Harry's beautiful and toned body and only came to a halt when he reached Harry’s crotch with his tongue.  
He planted soft kisses on Harry's thigh and afterwards completely covered Harry's dick with his warm and hot mouth.  
Harry softly moaned under Louis’s touch and ruffled Louis' hair. They moved in their own little rhythm and Louis gently,  
but evenly determined grabbed hold of Harry’s hips and moved them closer to his face.  
After a couple of minutes Harry seemed to be just seconds away from his climax and he arched his body even closer to Louis  
and thrust into his mouth even harder.  
Harry came with a loud and erotic moan, grabbing Louis' head and screaming his name, and Louis followed him over the edge ten seconds later.

Louis collapsed onto Harry's stomach and Harry laughed a tiny, warm smile.  
He caressed Louis’ cheeks and nose.  
“Oh babe, you still manage to be so hot for me that I don’t even need to touch you?” Harry grinned.  
“Have you ever looked into a mirror, silly?” Louis laughed, “and I love when you melt in front of me….and when you are loud."  
He chuckled. "So apparently yes, I still manage.”  


Harry propped himself up on the elbows and leaned forward to place a kiss on Louis’ forehead. “Since we didn’t have dinner – can I offer you a cupcake?” He asked and handed Louis some tissues.  
Louis sighed dramatically, "yes, please. I'm starving."

“Oh and I actually made a reservation for tomorrow. And I asked Lottie and Lou to join us, because they are more or less  
responsible for the beginning of all of this”, Harry said, gesturing between the two of them.  


Louis smiled in response and imagined himself and Harry in front of their families exchanging their vows.  
_Oh, and Harry in a suit again_. Yes…!!  


And it was all he ever wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **THANK YOU SO MUCH** for reading this!!  
>  I know it's a lot of fluff to take in, but the current dramatic situation requires dramatic amounts of fluff, if you ask me. :)  
> I am so excited and happy and also a little proud that I finally finished this story and I'm so grateful for YOU reading and commenting it.  
>  **I hope I made you chuckle with laughter.**
> 
> XX UnicornSoldier XX


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